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10/31/18
- NNHS Newsletter - Happy Halloween!

“Shadows of a thousand years rise again
unseen,
Voices whisper in the trees, 'Tonight is Halloween!' ”

Pickett was an aspiring actor who sang with a band called The Cordials
at night while going to auditions during the day. One night, while
performing with his band, Pickett did a monologue in imitation of horror
movie actor
Boris Karloff while performing
The Diamonds' "Little
Darlin'". The audience loved it and fellow band member Lenny Capizzi
encouraged Pickett to do more with the Karloff imitation.[2]

Pickett and Capizzi composed "Monster Mash" and recorded it with
Gary S. Paxton,
Leon Russell, Johnny McCrae, Rickie Page, and Terry Berg, credited
as "The Crypt-Kickers". (Mel
Taylor, drummer for
The Ventures, is sometimes credited with playing on the record as
well,[3]
while pianist
Leon Russell, who arrived late for the session, appears on the
single's instrumental B-side, "Monster Mash Party".[4])
The song was partially inspired by Paxton's earlier novelty hit "Alley
Oop", as well as by the
Mashed Potato dance craze of the era.[5]
A variation on the Mashed Potato was danced to "Monster Mash", in which
the footwork was the same but
Frankenstein-style monster gestures were made with the arms and
hands.

The song is narrated by a
mad scientist whose monster, late one evening, rises from a slab to
perform a new dance. The dance becomes "the hit of the land" when the
scientist throws a party for other monsters. The producers came up with
several low-budget but effective sound effects for the recording. For
example, the sound of a coffin opening was imitated by a rusty nail
being pulled out of a board. The sound of a cauldron bubbling was
actually water being bubbled through a straw, and the chains rattling
were simply chains being dropped on a tile floor. Pickett also
impersonated
horror film actor
Bela Lugosi as
Dracula
with the lyric "Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?"[6]

The song was re-released several times and appeared in the Billboard
charts on three occasions after the original release — December 1962,
August 1970 and May 1973.[7]
The BBC had
banned the record from airplay in 1962 on the grounds that the song was
"too morbid". It was re-released in the United Kingdom in 1973, where it
peaked at #3 in early October. To celebrate this popular release, Bobby
and the Crypt-Kickers toured Dallas and St. Louis around the 1973
Halloween holiday. On this tour, the Crypt-Kickers were composed of
Brian Ray (now guitarist with Paul McCartney), drummer Brian Englund,
keyboardist Don Chambers, singer Jean Ray, and others. The "Monster
Mash" re-entered the British Charts again on November 2, 2008 at #60.

"Monsters' Holiday", a
Christmas-themed follow up, was recorded by Pickett and released in
December 1962, peaking at #30 on the Billboard chart. The tune
was penned by the renowned novelty song composer Paul Harrison. In 1985,
with American culture experiencing a growing awareness of
rap music, Pickett released "Monster Rap", which describes the mad
scientist's frustration at being unable to teach the dancing monster
from "Monster Mash" how to talk. The problem is solved when he teaches
the monster to
rap.
A
movie musical based on the song starring Pickett was released in
1995.

Just got word that
Elizabeth Tedder Nunnally passed away last night. She has been fighting
cancer for some time. She was at home and was surrounded by family and
friends. No other details at this moment. Keep her family and friends in
your prayers.

OH, NO!
Even though it was hardly unexpected, I'm so very sorry to hear this,
Maureen, but thank you for letting us know.

“It is a wise thing
to be polite; consequently, it is a stupid thing to be rude. To make
enemies by unnecessary and willful incivility, is just as insane a
proceeding as to set your house on fire. For politeness is like a
counter--an avowedly false coin, with which it is foolish to be stingy.”

As you can see the doll is made in a
differently scaled way. At first thought it was possibly a walnut head, but
appears instead to be carved wood. She is long, an estimate is between two and a
half to three feet. The initials CG seem to be professionally added, so I don't
really think this was a person who made this as a hobby. There is a local girl
who does a great job of restoring old dolls, but she had no clue.

Do any of you know what this type of doll is called? I have her hanging up in
one of my display spaces and have gotten quite a few questions about her. In my
mind she is the Beetlejuice doll, for the obvious reason, but it would be nice
to have an actual answer. Possibly there may have been a time where tiny head
dolls were in style. The material and buttons show the doll was made in an
earlier time.

Thank
you, Shari!
I keep thinking I once knew the answer to this, but it certainly isn't coming to
me now.

"Anyone? Anyone?"

From Carlene Matthews Vannoy
('60 / '64) of VA - 10/31/18:

Thanks,
Carlene!

From Domi O'Brien ('64) of NH
- 10/29/18:

Thanks,
Domi!

“By the time a man realizes that his father was right, he has a son who
thinks he’s wrong.”

Sara Sach's Doggie Birthday Hat- "Your dog is
going to party like an animal! Crochet a dog birthday hat for him or her
to rock on their special day. That pooch is going to be the center of
attention, make no bones about it."

Pet Bow Tie Collar- "Looking for a way to dress up your pooch? Create this
Crochet Pet Bow Tie Collar and your pet will be the most stylish on the
block. Show your pooch some love with this adorable crochet craft."

2. Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - The NNHS Class of June 1942 meets at noon on
the second Wednesday of every other month for a Dutch treat lunch at the James
River Country Club, 1500 Country Club Road. PLEASE JOIN THEM. Give or take a few
years makes no difference. Good conversation, food and atmosphere. For details,
call Jennings Bryan at 803-7701 for reservations.